The pet shop worker and the murderer

Part 4

Tom Marvolo Riddle saw himself as an extraordinary person, and didn't care much what other people thought. He never spoke of his late parents, both technically dead by his hand - one far more direct than the other. He had no need for family or friends. Tom liked to think of himself as a puppet master, or the player, pulling on strings and moving pieces as he saw it fit. He kept to the shadows of the political scene, since he prefered to have others do his will for him. To keep his puppets and pieces happy, he cut a string here, took out a piece there. With some bloodshed, he came far. It was all so horribly dull. He had made himself known in hope to spice things up, but after a few years, the Aurors were no closer to capture him than before. The only drawback was the lack of intelligent company, since his name and face was known by wizarding kind as the infamous Undesirable no. 1. He didn't see a change in the pattern any time soon. Then, Nagini became sick.

"My shadow viper is sick. Do you have any potions?"

Tom looked around the cluttered pet shop distastefully. He disliked being out in the open, and he didn't feel secure even if he had weaved a strong compulsion web before talking to the distracted pet shop worker. Had he only been able to pinpoint Nagini's sickness himself, he would never have come here. As it was, he was no professional healer, and his familiar deserved the best. Not that he thought the teenager behind the desk at the Magical Menagerie in Diagon Alley could even come close to the best. Sadly, he had to try all safe options first. The teenager would be easy to get rid of if anything went wrong.

"Did you hear me?" Tom asked with a raised eyebrow when he felt that the boy had stared long enough. He knew he had been recognized, but he was going to play it to his advantage. Otherwise, he could just have cast a glamour on himself. This had the chance of being far more entertaining than hiding his identity would be. For a paranoid person, he enjoyed plaiýing with faith too much.

"Loud and clear." the boy answered with an obviously fake smile. Not much of an actor... Tom thought disinterested. He noticed that the boy straightened up, but it didn't make much difference in height.

"You need to bring your viper here for a check-over, or tell me which sickness it is, otherwise I can't get the correct potion for you."

He was tempted to roll his eyes. If he had known which sickness it was, he would already have said so. As it was, he would have to let the boy take a look at Nagini before he decided to find another option.

"I'll be back." Tom promised, and left.

---

He waited two days before showing up again, both to make sure that Nagini was ready for it, and to make sure that the Aurors weren't contacted. He trusted his compulsion web, but one could never be too sure. It would have been foolish of him to not take preventive steps, only because he had used magic. Too big trust in magic had been many great sorcerers downfall.

"That can't possibly be a shadow viper!" the boy exclaimed when Tom entered the shop, Nagini curled around his shoulders. He noted with amusement how the boy fumbled with a bag of rat treats.

"She is. Magic and good care can do a lot." Tom answered nonchalantly. It was true, though the magic was on the darker end of the spectrum. He watched as the boy got himself together and finally put away the rat treats.

"If you'll follow me into the backroom then, sir..."

He followed the boy into the room, which looked like a makeshift Healer room. Tom glanced around, and gave a snort when he saw the Muggle equipment. He hadn't expected to see anything Muggle, especially not in a pet shop. It was almost nice to meet someone else that didn't trust magic too much.